The nation's highest paid basketball coach now works for Kentucky. What a surprise that the recession would avoid the bag-man (or should I say overnight-mail man) world of UK hoops. Really, the place hasn't been the same since Rick Pitino left, so Kentucky hired Pitino clone John Calipari. Pat Forde of ESPN.com writes an amazingly on-the-money analysis of the situation, and ends by saying he hopes the joke is not on Kentucky.
Jay Mariotti of AOL Fanhouse states, though, that Kentucky needed Calipari, and Calipari need Kentucky. "In the national discussion, it's time for him to stop playing defense with an overachiever and give himself every built-in chance to win a championship with a resource-rich powerhouse," Mariotti wrote.
The year after pitino left th kentucky won a national title.
Pat, have you fallen off the wagon again? I can't fathom any other plausible alternative. Why would any sportswriter in his right mind link to Jay Mariotti's stuff?
And andy, that's a poor point. Smith won the title using Pitino's recruits. It's not about how good a coach you are, it's about how good a recruiter you are.
next to tony kornholer and skip bayless, jay mariotti may have the least sports knowledge on espn.
I wasn't talking about knowledge, I was talking about column-writing. Although his knowledge is lacking, as well. Mariotti's sole purpose in his professional writing life has been to sit at home in his boxer shorts and stir up the pot, whether he actually believed what he was writing or not. He's the journalistic equivalent of the very worst in sports talk radio, and he has the propensity to flip-flop his opinions more often than Shamu on acid.
He brings with him a built-in audience who embrace this love/hate relationship, which is the sole reason he got the AOL gig. It sure isn't because he's a good columnist. I wasn't kidding when I said no sportswriter in his right mind would link to him. I'm giving the benefit of the doubt, and blaming the leftover warm green beer.